Erica Verrillo has written seven books and published five. She doesn't know why anyone with an ounce of self-preservation would ever want to publish. But, if you insist on selling your soul to the devil, learn how to do it right: marketing, literary agents, book promotion, editing, pitching your book, how to get reviews, and ... most important of all ... everything she did wrong.
In the interests of protecting the right to free speech, she did not vote for Trump.
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Paying Markets

Writers should get paid for their work. We need to eat, just like everyone else. Unfortunately, most literary journals are staffed by volunteers, and have no budget. Some, however, are willing to pay for articles, stories, and poems.

The best-paying magazines tend to be non-fiction publications, but some of these are beginning to accept poetry and creative non-fiction. It's a question of finding your niche.

Many of these journals specialize in niche markets, which means they have a loyal readership. If you happen to have expertise or a background that would appeal to their audiences, these magazines will be happy to read your pitch. Quite a few accept poetry.

These magazines represent everything from speculative fiction, to poetry, to gardening. Payments range from $1.25 to $1,000. You will find a home for your work in this list. (This list is continually updated.)

Like the short story, personal essays are structured, have a theme, and usually involve a moral or message of some kind. Some literary journals and niche magazines are willing to pay substantially for these essays, so devoting a few hours to writing one is worth your consideration.

If you have a sense of humor, why not use it to make some money? There are ample economic opportunities for people who can see the lighter side of life, or skewer the darker side with a well-aimed quip. These publications will be more than happy to pay you to make their readers laugh.

When it comes to the short form, nothing is more lucrative than nonfiction. Even if your focus is on poetry or fiction, you can publish short informative pieces - and get paid quite handsomely. This article lists some great resources for finding paying markets.

The whole world is looking for techies, which means if your area of expertise is web development, website design, and/or all those things with confusing initials, you can write about it and make money!

If you are a writer with children, you're in luck! Magazines that are geared to families tend to have significant circulations. Many are local, which means they are eager for stories about regional family events and places to go that are family-friendly. Some publish fiction and poetry, and nearly all accept personal essays. There are no fees to submit.

Magazines focusing on the environment have a dedicated readership, and some pay quite well for a thoroughly researched feature. But even if your only interest is writing about your hiking adventures, there is plenty of opportunity to get published.

These magazines accept fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, essays, novel and memoir excerpts, reviews, drama, and, in some cases, artwork. Some of these magazines are paying markets. I have included non-paying markets as well, as this is such a small niche. There are no fees to submit.

If you like to travel, you are in luck, because lots of magazines want to hear about your trips. And, as a bonus, they are perfectly willing to pay to get your insights, print your photos, share your adventures.

2 comments:

Hi Erica Verrillo, thank you for the submission roundup. I'm new to Google+ Writers, Authors, Bloggers community and am interested in submitting some writing. However, I can't seem to find any info about protecting myself so that I'm sure to get paid for any submissions used by the publishers. Is there anything you can share with me about that? Thank you, P J Williams

Most magazines and journals that pay won't accept a piece if it has appeared online. So, if you want to submit to a paying market, don't post it anywhere until after it has been published. As for how to get paid by magazines or journals, that's pretty straightforward. Once your work is accepted, they will send you a contract. In the contract it will stipulate when you will get paid (on publication, on acceptance, after 30 days, etc.) I've never had a problem getting paid when submitting to a paying market. Usually they send a check or make a paypal payment when the piece is published.